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Michigan scored four goals in a row to take a 4-1 lead to retain their second Big Ten Tournament title.
» Eric Portillo received the Most Outstanding Player and All Tournament awards after winning 4-0 in the B1G tournament.
» Freshman Maki Samoskewicz scored a goal, added an assist and landed five scoring shots on goal to earn a spot on the all-tournament squad.
» Forwards Brendan Brisson and Matty Beniers, along with defenseman Luke Hughes, completed the rest of the tournament team with Minnesota’s Jackson Lacombe.
Website: Minneapolis, MN (3M Arena at Mariucci)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Final)
Check: #4 Michigan 4, #2 Minnesota 3
Entries: Michigan (29-9-1), Minnesota (24-12)
The following UM event: Sunday, March 20 – NCAA Tournament Qualifying Show (ESPNU), 6:30 p.m.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota. — Six years after winning the last conference championship in nearby St. Paul, the second-place University of Michigan hockey team turned their talents to the Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis and defeated the first-place Minnesota Golden Gophers by a score of 4. -3 points on Saturday night (March 19) to qualify for the second Big Ten Tournament championship.
With this win, Michigan snapped the Minnesota’s nine-game winning streak and stripped the Gophers of their second straight tournament title. Winning the tournament marks Michigan’s 10th championship in conference history and the first since 2016 (5-3 win over Minnesota).
Goalkeeper Eric Portillo continued his stellar performance in his 39th consecutive start, making 25 saves to end the streak 4–0 in the conference tournament and earn the Most Outstanding Player award. He made 90 saves on 95 shots in the tournament.
Skating in white on home ice, the Golden Gophers landed an early hit 32 seconds into the game when a crisp, extended pass shortened the Minnesota forward’s lead. The outfield player played beautifully with the backhand, threw the puck into the net and opened the scoring with the first throw of the game.
Less than a minute later, the Wolverines in blue and corn suits joined in the fun, returning their own goal to the team’s first throw to match Minnesota’s hot start and subdue the raging sold-out crowd at 1:17. match.
Luke Hughesthe nation’s top scoring defenseman, helped keep the puck in Minnesota’s zone along the boards at just the right spot before passing through a pair of gophers to Matty Beniers in the right circle. Beniers caught the pass with a left hand, then picked up the puck, went around his defenseman and sent a short pass through the slot to Brendan Brissonwho equalized five holes later for a 19th-place finish of the season.
The middle of the first period featured fast-paced play at both ends of the court as two highly skilled teams battled one after the other in a brilliant display of Big Ten and college hockey.
At the end of the period Maki Samoskevich played well on a center pass that turned into a shot and then a goal as he ricocheted off defenseman Gopher’s blade and hit the net, giving Michigan a 2-1 lead. to the cell Dylan Duke to his left. While attempting to connect with Duke during a pass through the crease, the puck went into the net instead, putting UM ahead. Johnny Beecher collected the only help.
Minnesota was penalized for head contact with 1:39 left, but UM failed to capitalize on the first man advantage of the evening, pushing 21 seconds of powerplay into the second period before officially going 0-for-1.
After 20 minutes of the championship game, Michigan was leading 2-1. Each team scored 10 shots on goal in the first frame.
Duke tallied his own marker at 2:06 in the second period after the teams were back on even footing. Samoskevych set him up with a plate pass, which Duke was able to parry in the air. Thomas Bordelo made a minor pass on goal to make the score 3-1.
The Gophers were penalized with 13:34 left in the middle period, this time for boarding. Having failed to realize their previous opportunity, the Michigan majority left no doubt when Kent Johnson fired a rocket from the right spot off the crossbar and made it 4-1 halfway to a two-minute lead. Brisson and Bordelot assisted KJ in the eighth scoring.
Freshman forward Mark Estapa was credited for Michigan’s first penalty at 8:46 in the second period when he was called out for a high stick. The Gophers threatened an extra skater, but UM’s penalties missed the chance to bring the teams back to five-on-five.
With two innings in history, Michigan led 4-1 and scored 23-16 on shots on goal after hitting 13 in the second period to Minnesota’s six.
Minnesota was penalized for interference at 6:33 in the third period, placing UM for the third time in most games. With 1:33 left in the initial five-on-four advantage, Pastuev crashed out in front of the Minnesota bench with a rear kick. After the official review, the Golden Gophers were issued a massive five-minute penalty and a game violation, giving UM a lasting two-skater lead over time.
After the minor penalty expired, the Wolverines continued to put pressure on the Golden Gopher end by testing the Minnesota goalie before the teams returned to an equal footing with eight minutes left in the game.
As the final minutes ticked on, the Gophers were awarded a hook penalty with 2:34 left at 2:34 to start their second powerplay in the title game. Less than a minute later, the Wolverines were given a 1:41 hold penalty on the clock, bringing the Wolverines down to three skaters. Coach Bob Motzko took Minnesota time out to come up with a game plan.
Portillo made a number of standout stops with an empty Minnesota net and three Wolverines rolling against six golden gophers. With 53 seconds left in regulation, Minnesota scored their second goal by three to close the gap to 4-2.
The Gophers left their net empty to maintain a two-man lead in the ensuing draw, and their massive attacking pressure paid off in the closing seconds of the game when they scored a third goal with 5.8 seconds left in the game to make it 4-3.
After Bordelot barricaded the center of the ice ahead of the faceoff to prevent a last-second onslaught by the Gophers, the final signal sounded and the entire Michigan team boarded to celebrate their fourth and biggest trophy of the season (Ice Breaker, Iron D , Mariucci-Renfrew).
After the game, former Michigan coach Red Berenson helped Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren present the trophy to the victorious Wolverines. The conference also announced its all-tournament team, with five of its six honorees coming from Michigan:
• Forward: Matty Benyers, Michigan
• Forward: Brendan Brisson, Michigan
• Forward: Maki Samoskewicz, Michigan
• Defense: Luke Hughes, Michigan
• Defense: Jackson Lacombe, Minnesota
• Goaltender: Eric Portillo, Michigan (Most Outstanding Player)
Tomorrow (Sunday, March 20), the Wolverines will find out where they’re headed for next weekend’s NCAA Regional Event when the NCAA Ice Hockey Selection Show airs on ESPNU at 6:30 pm.
Regionals in Albany, NY and Loveland, Colorado will play Thursday and Saturday (March 24 and 26), while Allentown, PA and Worcester, Massachusetts will play regionals on Friday and Sunday ( 25 and 27 March). ). This year, all NCAA Tournament games will be streamed live on ESPNU. Men’s Frozen Four 2022 will take place in Boston at TD Garden on Thursday and Saturday, April 7th and 9th.